Denver rockers follow
in Jay-Z’s footsteps at UA
By Alex Gendreau
Arizona Daily Wildcat
ASUA is back with another
concert tonight from the Grammy
Award-winning band The Fray.
After last April’s Jay-Z fiasco
(see “Concert loses almost $1 million,” Arizona Daily Wildcat, May
6, 2009) the UA’s student government seems to have decided it
would be wise to team up with
UApresents and provide a more
affordable and less extravagant
concert. The Fray, a Denver-based
band formed in 2002 by schoolmates Isaac Slade and Joe King,
will perform at 8 p.m.
Spawning from jam sessions,
The Fray rocketed to Billboard
Chart success with their wildly
popular debut album How to
Save a Life in 2005 . Songs like
“Over My Head (Cable Car)” and
“How to Save a Life” raced to
the top of the charts and quickly
became embedded into pop/rock
minds across the nation.

photo courtesy of myspace.com

With the promotion of these
catchy songs on television
shows like “Scrubs” and “Grey’s
Anatomy” throughout 2006, The

Fray catapulted into pop-culture
icon status. Since then the band
CONCERT, page B8

Gordon Bates/Arizona Daily Wildcat

THE AD JUNK PROFESSOR

Levi’s ad a barbaric yawp
of art, capitalism
A

COMMENTARY
by Anna Swenson
arts writer

black-and-white image of a flickering neon
sign reading“America.”A scratchy, bootleggy
recording of a man’s voice reading poetry.
Strong, muscled young backs. Fields of grain. Smoke.
Back flips. Bare feet. Fireworks. Blue jeans.
Is it a nouveau film playing at The Loft? A collage
of Dorothea Lange images at the Center for Creative
Photography? A new mixed-media piece by Fine Arts
graduate students? No, folks, it’s the new Levi Strauss
jeans ad.
The stylish ad spots have been showing up since
summer 2009 in movie theaters, television and various

forms of print media. The campaign’s tag line is“Go
Forth,”emphasizing the bluegrass roots feel of early
American ingenuity and originality.
The ads are visually striking and oddly mesmerizing: try tearing your eyes away from the flashing images of young, strong bodies running through fields,
hugging, kissing or dancing around bonfires wearing
jeans and little else to the words of Walt Whitman
read, in one version, by the poet himself. The America
the ads suggest is as we wish it was:“So impatient,
full of action, full of manly pride and friendship,”reads
a man’s voice as young people dress, undress, and

make Levi’s look like the uniform of the sexy modern
counterculture.
The black-and-white version features a recording that is thought to be Whitman himself reading
his poem “America.”As barefoot, many-raced
young people run and (not exactly) frolic with odd
and striking tension, the scratchy audio reads:
“Strong, ample, fair, enduring, capable, rich …
perennial with the Earth, with Freedom, Law
and Love.”A beautiful mixed-race couple kisses
JEANS, page B8

How you can find ‘Paradise’ on campus
By Anna Swenson
Arizona Daily Wildcat

photo courtesy of photobucket.com

If you’ve been looking for a place to wear your
sexy Satan costume other than the Heaven and
Hell party on Greek Row, you’re in luck.
The 12th Annual Milton Marathon will take
place this Friday at the UA Main Library in Special
Collections room C205 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The
marathon is a 12-hour-long reading of English
writer John Milton’s masterwork “Paradise Lost.”
The event is free (and costumes are optional).
Started by English professor John Ulreich in
1998, the event joins others across the country
in the marathon effort to make it through the 10
books that comprise the 1667 epic. Milton, who
was blind by the time he finished the timeless
piece of blank verse, wrote the piece to, in his
words, try to“justify the ways of God to men.”The

book-length poem essentially retells the first few
chapters of Genesis — in around 500 pages.
English majors, graduate students and exceptionally literate members of the greater Tucson
community are expected to turn out by the hundreds for the annual event. Drop in for a few
minutes of a few hours to hear participants take
turns reading from the work. You’ll hear stories
of love, betrayal, divinity, exaltation and damnation from the perspective of Adam, Eve, God
and the most unnervingly convincing Satan this
side of a near-death experience.
Milton is famous for his ambitious, often incendiary topics in his political and prose works.
His poetry, such as “Paradise Lost” and “Samson
Agonistes,” is lauded by scholars and sometimes
feared by students because of Milton’s cha acteristic nuanced writing style and eclectic, academic
references. If you ease into Milton by listening to

his work read aloud while sampling light refreshments, however, he’s not so scary; the Milton Marathon is an ideal way to catch a taste or a stomachful of the brilliant writer’s most famous work.
So if you hear the voice of God at 8 a.m. Friday
morning while stumbling through the library,
don’t worry, you’re not going crazy. It’s just the
Milton Marathon. After 12 hours, we might all
be paradise losing it.

Around town
of scarf-wearing, coffee-sipping intellectuals, or screaming spitting versions
of verbalized angst. But this dual language reading from the work of Lila
Zimborain, as translated by Rosa Alcalá
and Mónica de la Torre, tries to reach
out to more than just the usual coffeehouse crowd. Selections from the
collection “Mauve Sea-Orchids” will be
read in Spanish and English, and blend
the language of the scientific with the
poetic. Oh, and don’t forget to wear
your scarf. 8 p.m. Poetry Center, 1508 E
Helen St. Free.

FRIDAY, NOV. 20
B.B. King. It’s kind of
remarkable that this legendary guitarist is still alive, let
alone touring. It’s as if Chuck
Berry, Little Richard and Jerry
Lee Lewis were still alive
and touring. Wait, they are.
What a bizarre world we live
in. Anyway, this may well
be your only chance to see
one of popular music’s most
influential blues guitarists.
8 p.m. Centennial Hall.
Available tickets range from
$59 to $79.

FRIDAY, NOV. 20

Milton Marathon. Ever read “Paradise Lost,” John Milton’s epic tale of
Satan’s cosmic battle against God? No?
Well, here’s your chance to have it read
to you, or even join in the fun; the goal
is to read all 11,000 lines by the end of
the night. We won’t give away the ending, but don’t bet on Satan to win. For
some inexplicable reason, that guy always has lousy luck. 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. UA
Library Special Collections. Free and
open to the public.
“Breaking Away.” This 1979 coming-of-age movie ranked at No. 8 on
the American Film Institute’s list of the
100 most inspiring movies of the last
century. Personally, we’re still irked that
“She’s All That” was a no-show. 7:30
p.m. Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress St. $6-$8.

photo courtesy of jazzpages.com

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 18

“Ockham’s Razor.” No, it’s not a
philosophy lecture, it’s a locally made
film with a Tucson-based cast. Features a Q&A session with the director following the screening. 7 p.m. The
Loft Cinema, 3233 E. Speedway Blvd.
$7 general admission, $5 for students
and Loft members.
The Fray. We hear this band has
sold a few records; maybe you’ve even
heard of them. Anyway, they were
kind enough to come all the way from
Denver, Colo., so you might as well
check them out, if only to be nice.

According to uapresents.org, tickets
are all sold out — so if you bought
one, you’d better not forget to go. The
Fray is going to feel awfully silly if they
see any empty seats in the audience. 8
p.m. Centennial Hall.
Thao With The Get Down Stay
Down. No, seriously, that’s what
they’re called. This Kill Rock Stars
band — no, seriously, that’s the name
of the record label — has been likened
to the sweet, sinister sounds of Cat
Power and Beth Orton. With The Portland Cello Project and David Schultz.
Doors open at 8:30 p.m. Plush, 340 E.
Sixth St. $10.

THURSDAY, NOV. 19

The 2009 Sundance Shorts. The
very best animated and live-action
short films from this year’s Sundance
Film Festival, featuring penguins, omelettes and self-storage units. It ought
to be a refreshing change of pace from
all those other Loft movies, which tend
to be either critically acclaimed French
movies with no point or Korean movies
about vampires. 7:30 p.m. The Loft Cinema, 3233 E. Speedway Blvd. $6.
Bilingual poetry reading. The
phrase “poetry reading” may inspire
images of stuffy bookstore nooks full

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UA Press 50th Anniversary Book
Sale. Note that it’s a sale of all books,
not just “50th anniversary” books. Now
that’d be a disappointing book sale. 10
a.m. to 2 p.m. UA Press, 355 S. Euclid
Ave.
The Hounds. This band is said to
be influenced by acts as diverse as
Muddy Waters and Sublime. Which
is a little like saying you’re influenced
by rules as diverse as the injunction
against murder and that little tag that
warns you not to remove it from your
pillow. Doors open at 9 p.m. Plush, 340
E. Sixth St. $5.

Tori Sparks. This singer’s been
compared to Neil Young, Tom Waits
and Leonard Cohen. For someone
who isn’t a raspy-voiced old man,
that’s quite an achievement. With The
Kate Becker Project and The Sugar
Thieves. 21+ 7 p.m. Club Congress,
311 E. Congress St. $5 in advance; $7
day of show.
Hank Topless. We’ll spare you the
usual predictable joke about how this
singer-songwriter doesn’t perform topless. Oh, wait. 9:30 p.m. Plush, 340 E.
Sixth St. No cover.

MONDAY, NOV. 23

Salsa for Veterans. Veterans of the
Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts are invited to participate in a free introductory
salsa class every Monday in November.
That’s salsa as in dance, not salsa as in
something you add to your quesadilla.
Though that sure sounds good right
now, doesn’t it? 6 p.m. Arizona Ballet
Theatre, 2512 E. Sixth St. Free.
“Loose Change 9/11: An American
Coup.” Yet another documentary that
posits the highly believable proposition
that George W. Bush was the craftiest,
most clever world leader of all time.
7 p.m. Crossroads 6 Grand Cinemas,
4811 E. Grant Road. $3.

TUESDAY, NOV. 24

Running Hot. This obscurelynamed Rolling Stones tribute band
— presumably named after a phrase
in the 1981 Stones classic “Start Me
Up” — will be playing with Audacia,
Sinphonics and Gaza Strip. Wouldn’t
it be funny if the restrooms happened
to run out of hot water that night?
Well, maybe not “ha-ha” funny. More
“ironic.” 21+. 8 p.m. Club Congress,
311 E. Congress St. $5.
Roll Acosta. Only an indie singersongwriter could get away with being
named “Roll.” I mean, really. What’s
he going to name the kids, “Knife” and
“Fork”? 21+ 9:30 p.m. Plush, 340 E.
Sixth St. No cover.
— compiled by Justyn Dillingham

Arizona Daily Wildcat
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‘Some Girl(s)’ is sexy, cynical late night theater
By Anna Swenson
Arizona Daily Wildcat
In The Now Theatre’s production of
Neil LaBute’s“Some Girl(s),” the young
company proves that eager acting and
sparse staging can be the best way to
reveal both the crass hypocrisy and the
painful injustice that characterize both
love and life today. If you’ve ever been
— or been burned by — a charming opportunist, you will relate to this
delicate, deliberate production.
LaBute’s story follows young writer
Guy, played by theater arts senior John
Shartzer, as he visits the most meaningful of his old girlfriends before he
finally marries. As the characters note
in the one-act, Guy is not a great guy,
but, hey, at least he knows it. As Guy
slides and swerves his way around
every situation the audience witnesses
and the characters discuss, one can’t
help but enjoy it when these ladies
make the slimy guy squirm.
Sam, played by senior Lauren
Orlowski, was the first love. As much
as Guy tries to cut Sam down for being the small-town girl who settled,
Orlowski’s Sam is cleverer than that.
She seems to know that she would
rather be married to a Safeway store
manager who loves and cares for her
than a smug, lying, flighty man-boy
like Guy. Sam’s struggle is touching

and relatable as she tells Guy why
she thinks he asked her to meet.“You
think you’re over it and it’s still all right
there, you know?” she asks softly. With
Orlowski’s finely wrought performance,
we do know.
Guy’s next former-lover encounter is
with the brash and brassy Tyler, played
by junior Danielle Hecht. The scene
between Guy and Tyler is the most
playful of the work, with Guy battling humorously with his attraction
to the beautiful Tyler and a smoking
scene sexy enough to set back 20 years
of anti-tobacco ads.“You want some
blow-back?” Hecht croons, and the
line is so apropos: all LaBute allows
his characters is a breathy wisp of the
love or truth they seek. Hecht makes
a lovely Tyler; it takes pluck to make
a slutty, druggy jewelry artist endearing. She’s bold, sexual and determined
— determined to never let Guy know
how much he hurt her.
Senior Holly Marie Carlson is fierce,
bitter and admirably blunt as Lindsay,
a married older woman. She was hurt,
and she’s not afraid to let Guy know
— and make him pay. Though Carlson
physically looks not a day older than
Shartzer, she imbues her performance
with authority and oddly naïve worldweariness that make for a believable
character in age and bearing. This is
where LaBute’s writing of a female
character falters, however; it is difficult

to believe that the smart, confident
Lindsay would be so vindictive and
sadistic. The play’s view of women
is slightly more favorable than of
men, but not by much: LaBute builds
women up only by having them tear
men and other women down.
The last “girl” Guy visits is the fresh,
funny Bobbi, played by expressive and
effervescent senior Chelsea Bowdren.
She plays Bobbi with big humor and
a big heart, which only makes the
starkness of Guy’s selfishness appear
that much more unkindly. Guy’s last
speech to her and her reaction might
be the most poignant moment of the
production, and Bowdren plays it with
delicacy, in contrast to her earlier big
emotions and bigger smile.
LaBute cuts his protagonist no slack
to speak of, but Shartzer wields the
role with impressive grace. It is easy
to imagine why the women he visits
don’t remember him fondly, but there
is enough charm in the performance
to also see why they fell for Guy. While
one sincerely hopes Guy is not an everyman, Shartzer plays even the more
contemptible aspects of the character
with just enough smooth magnetism
to keep the audience from outright
hating the guy. Here’s hoping Shartzer
has not been doing any Method acting
for this role — he plays the manipulative, self-serving, near-masochistic
Guy so convincingly it’s unnerving.

Even as you’re clapping for the solid
performance, you’re not sure whether
you want to spit in his face or see if
he’d like to go out for drinks.
Every piece of the performance,
from the clack of the girls’ heels on the
stage floor to the effeminate pillows
on the anonymous hotel set, feel endearingly eager, and the revelatory last
scene is no exception. In its smooth,
sure refusal to apologize for the truth it
displays, the scene serves as synecdoche for the rest of the play and, LaBute
seems to be saying, society at large.
If there is a flaw in this determined
production, it is not the fresh acting,

photo courtesy of the Now Theatre

deliberate production, or ambitious
subject matter — it is that LaBute
seems to hate his character even more
than the women his character spurned.

IF YOU GO:
Neil LaBute’s Some Girl(s),
this Thursday - Saturday at 10:30 p.m.
and Sunday at 5 p.m.
Tickets at the door; $10, cash only.
The Rogue Theatre in the Historic Y,
300 E. University Blvd.

Wale focuses on ‘Attention Deficit’
By Ada Dieke
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Attention Deficit is a likely contender for the hip-Hop album of
the year. Hip-hop newcomer and
Interscope/Roc Nation (Jay-Z’s
label) recording artist Olubowale
Akintimehin aka Wale, (pronounced
Wah-lei) has assembled a sensational collection of songs that are
frank in their honesty, smart in their
thought-provoking qualities and
tight in their seamless production.
Not to mention there are bonus
tracks that are actually really good.
Born to Nigerian parents, Wale hails
from America’s capital, representing
Washington, D.C., well and doing an
excellent job of helping to revive a
comatose hip-hop music industry.
While his flow is distinct, it won’t
be long before music connoisseurs label Wale as the rapper who
doesn’t waste a word as he vividly
paints his life experiences through
his songs. On “Shades,” featuring
Chrisette Michelle, he details his
struggles being Nigerian-American.
He solemnly tells of a girl hurt so
badly by men in her past that she
can’t accept his love on “Diary,”
which features Marsha Ambrosius .
Interestingly, many of Wale’s songs
center on his dialogue on ambition
and a quest for success, combined with
a sobering realization of the price of
fame.“Chillin,” with Lady Gaga, is the
first release from his album, followed
by expansive “Pretty Girls” featuring
Gucci Mane and Weensey of Backyard
Band.“Let It Loose” featuring Pharell
is a surefire club-banger,“TV In My

courtesy of Amazon.com

RATING: 
Radio” featuring K’Naan (a rapper of
Somalian heritage) is sharp and witty,
while “Triumph” opens up the album
with drum beats fit for an African king.
In fact, many of Wale’s songs incorporate the percussion laden “go-go”
music popular in the Washington,
D.C., area. And the sweetest track that
represents the mixture of go-go music
with African and hip-hop beats is the
bonus track “My Sweetie.”

His focus seems to be on many different topics but he still makes a specific
point in every song. Stellar wordplay
frames his music. The video game-like
musical production that introduces many
of his songs is fitting for his album, as it
demonstrates how well technology can
cause an attention deficit disorder. And
while there are many distracting hip-hop
albums out there, this one is sure to keep
you fully engaged.

Campus-area pizza joint 1702
offers a lot of crust for your buck
By Ali Freedman
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Looking for beer and pizza? What college student isn’t? If a big ol’
slice of thin crust pie and a microbrew or imported beer tickles your
fancy, stop by 1702.
The little pizza shop on Speedway Boulevard — the name is the
address — offers big eats for a small price. It is most definitely worth
stopping by before or after a game or after a hard day of the classes.
1702 offers massive portions; no appetite is too big for a single slice. These
puppies are so big you don’t get a knife but a mini pizza cutter to help devour
them. Ranging from $5 to $8 for a slice, it definitely fits a college budget.
Don’t worry: You can get whole pies, massive salads, cheesy-garlicky
good bread or wings to help satisfy your appetite. The tiny space filled
with beer paraphernalia is welcoming and busy. 1702 is a real neighborhood joint.
If you need a great beer to pair with your pizza, don’t hesitate to
ask. The staff is knowledgeable and can get down to the nitty-gritty.
Don’t expect to find a Bud Light, Shock Top, Guinness or other name
brand beer — 1702 doesn’t go there. Specialty beer is its territory.
Can’t make up your mind? Ask for a sip of your top choices to sample.
If you’re looking for a good spot to take a large group, 1702 offers a
rather spacious back room and has plenty of tables that can be pulled
together to accommodate larger parties. Beware, the bathrooms are
not quite as nice as the restaurant; however, it’s a small con to throw
into a long list of pros.
Although the wait can be a bit long for a single slice when the place
is busy, it is worth the wait. If you’re looking for speed at the busiest
pizza hours, however, you may need to try elsewhere.
1702 is a killer pizza joint well suited for the college crowd. Its endless beer selection and massive portions of good pizza make it well
worth braving the bright red walls, rowdy college crowd, bad bathrooms and lack of parking. Don’t believe me? See for yourself.
1702 is located at 1702 E. Speedway Blvd., just west of Campbell
Avenue. Its current hours are listed as Monday-Wednesday: 11 a.m.
to 10 p.m.; Thursday-Friday: 11 a.m. to midnight, Saturday: noon –
midnight — and they claim to be willing to stay open as late as 2 a.m.
if customers are still showing up. Can’t find it? Look for Bentley’s
House of Coffee and Tea in the Nob Hill strip, and then walk three
stores down.

Timothy Galaz/Arizona Daily Wildcat

Alison Klaiber serves up one of the many brews on tap at 1702, a pizza and beer spot
in the Nob Hill shopping center.

1702, a pizza
and beer joint
in the Nob Hill
shopping center
off Speedway
Boulevard
and Campbell
Avenue, has
become quite
popular with its
large slices and
extensive craft
beer inventory.
Timothy Galaz/
Arizona Daily
Wildcat

Timothy Galaz/Arizona Daily Wildcat

Beth Shire brings some fresh slices of pizza out of the 1702 kitchen as Dylan LaRochelle (left) watches a new job applicant work with some dough.

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arizona daily wildcat • wednesday, november 18, 2009 •

CINEMA CENTER

B5

Radio ‘pirates’ set sail for mediocrity
By Brandon Specktor
Arizona Daily Wildcat
If you love the music of the ’60s
but weren’t alive for its heyday, and
if you haven’t seen “Taking Woodstock,”“Almost Famous,” or “Across
The Universe,” and if you’d rather
watch misanthropic British dick
jockeys try to get laid on the high
seas instead of listening to vinyl in
the privacy of your own incenseoozing bedroom, then Avast, ye
rockers! “Pirate Radio” be the movie
for you.
If, however, you have a legitimate interest in the history of 1960s
offshore broadcasting in the United
Kingdom, save yer doubloons; you’ll
find more historical fact in Davy
Jones’ waterlogged diary.
“Pirate Radio” is the newest from
director Richard Curtis, the storyteller responsible for the doubly
loved and loathed “Love Actually”
and “Bridget Jones” flicks, and will
likely elicit the same binary response from American audiences.
Re-chopped from “The Boat That
Rocked,” which was met with dismal
box office results in the U.K. when it
premiered this April, “Pirate Radio”
is the fictionalized account of Radio
Rock, the finest ocean liner/radio
station ever to sail the North Sea.
The year is 1966, the alleged
“Golden Age of Rock and Roll”
according to a cursory title card
at the film’s intro, and the stodgy
bureaucrats who run England have
outlawed rock music. Total buzz
kill, man! But all is not lost, because
a rebellious American DJ called
simply The Count (played by a
grizzly Philip Seymour Hoffman in
one of his most understated roles in
recent memory) and his ragtag crew

of jockeys have taken to the seas
where they may disseminate the
devil’s music 24-7. Far out!
The conflict? Well, for most of the
film there really isn’t one.
Back on the mainland the
paunchy Sir Alistair Dormandy
(Kenneth Branagh) — the Dean
Wormer to Radio Rock’s “Animal
House” — and his misfortunatelynamed henchman Twatt (Jack
Davenport) work to shut down the
radio pirates, but their insidious
plans are tirelessly repelled in an
inconsequential roadrunner-andcoyote dynamic.
The brunt of “Pirate Radio,” in fact,
has nothing to do with radio: the
narrative is driven by the collective
crewmembers of Radio Rock trying
to cope with the rigors of living on
a boat full of men between periodic
conjugal visits from gawking female
fans. Hoffman’s Count, marketed
heavily as the daring American who
saved rock music from the limeys, is
not even the protagonist, and is perhaps given an aggregate 30 minutes
of screen time throughout the film’s
myriad sexcapades.
The true protagonist is a youngster named Carl (Tom Sturridge)
who has been surreptitiously assigned to the Radio Rock crew by
his mother in an attempt to reunite
him with his estranged father.
This father/son side plot is hastily
overshadowed, though, by Carl’s
attempts to lose his virginity, which
encompasses the entire first act of
the film.
So, the plot may be a bit willynilly — that’s to be expected from
such a champion of trite ensemble
comedy — but what about the
rock? The film’s soundtrack, which
features such iconic rockers as The

Photo courtesy of areyouscreening.com

RATING: 
Kinks, The Rolling Stones, The Who
and Jimi Hendrix, is a rebellious
rocker’s delight, despite being a
glaring anachronism to the film’s
’66 context (many songs, especially
David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” came
years later).
The cast, composed of such commanding personalities as Hoffman,
Bill Nighy (“Love Actually,” Davy
Jones from Bruckheimer’s “Pirates”),
Nick Frost (“Hot Fuzz,”“Shaun of
The Dead”) and Rhys Ifans (“Little
Nicky”) should be another saving
grace. The plot moves so briskly between rock music montages and ir-

relevant bonding vignettes, though,
that it’s impossible to give any
particular character any allegiance
besides the horny, young Carl.
In a BBC interview, director
Curtis claimed that his film was
not meant to be an accurate
recounting of the history of pirate
radio, but was rather meant for pure
entertainment. In this respect “Pirate
Radio” is somewhat successful.
What it presents is not history, but
a romantic mythologizing of what
history could have been — a drawnout, often-irrelevant mythology
delivered via endless montages

of romance and rebellion, but a
watchable mythology nonetheless.
Hop aboard “Pirate Radio” with
the family or the significant other
if you want to keelhaul two hours
of your life, but don’t expect to uncover any buried treasure.

‘An Education’ a pitch-perfect evocation of ’62 Britain
By Justyn Dillingham
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Some films are worth seeing for
their credit sequences alone, and
“An Education,” with its bouncy,
witty opening, is among them. It
sets us up to believe we’re about to
see a giddy romp, and we are — but
it’s also exactly what it promises in
its title: an “education.” It’s about
how you learn more, sometimes,
from giddy romps than you do from
all those years of Latin.
Carey Mulligan stars as Jenny, a
smart and pretty 16-year-old who
spends her days sitting quietly in
class and her evenings lounging
around in bed listening to her
French pop records — until her
father (Alfred Molina) bangs on the
ceiling and tells her to get back to
her studying.
One afternoon, as she faces an
unpleasant walk home from her cello
lesson through the rain, an older
man named David (Peter Sarsgaard)
stops his car and offers her a ride.
Jenny at first politely declines, as
we would. Then she takes another
look at the man and agrees. He’s
not particularly handsome, but his
manner is so open and engaging that
she can’t imagine he’s anything but a
perfect gentleman.
Before Jenny knows it, David’s
picking her up to take her to
jazz clubs and coming over with
an armful of packages on her
birthday, and taking her to hang
out with people who say things
like, “I always think I’m going to
my own funeral when I listen to
classical music.” Her parents are
so completely won over when they
meet the charming David that they
wind up letting him take her on

Photo courtesy of filmreviewonline.com

RATING: 
weekend trips — first to Oxford,
then to Paris .
The film makes an interesting
point about class. Jenny’s father,
so determined to have nothing but
the best for his daughter, doesn’t
see anything wrong with marrying
her off to this fabulous, seemingly
wealthy man, with his celebrity
impressions and stories about
dinners at Oxford — despite the fact
that he’s more than twice her age.
In its quiet way, this film is
rather suspenseful. It’s so obvious
to the audience that something
must be amiss with David, despite
all appearances, that we wind up
scrutinizing his every move, like
someone scrunching up his eyes
to better see a far-off object. And
the film lets us know that Jenny
is studying him just as intently;
when she receives the first hint
that something might be shady, she
reacts as if a bomb has gone off.

To reveal any more would be
criminal, but the film’s visual
deftness deserves praise. “An
Education” looks bright and
appealing at first, but the director,
Lone Scherfig , darkens the film’s
color palette during the second
half, as Jenny grows disillusioned.
London’s bright colors become
bleaker-looking; more and more
scenes seem to take place at night.
“An Education” is a nearly
flawless movie, pitch-perfect in its
evocation of a specific time and
place. We never feel that we’re
anywhere but 1962 England, and
while we never step outside Jenny’s
perspective, we come to know the
world around her a little bit better,
perhaps, than she can.
Mulligan is delightful as Jenny,
but the supporting cast, particularly
Olivia Williams (who played
Jason Schwartzman’s teacher in
“Rushmore”) as Jenny’s favorite

teacher, is equally good. Molina,
as Jenny’s father, hits every line
with a kind of gruff explosiveness,
like an old baseball player meeting
the ball with his bat. Sarsgaard
almost steals the movie as the allbut-unreadable David. It’s to his
credit that he manages to suggest
an inner life for David without
resorting to clichés.
Some critics have complained
that the film is predictable. But
after a diet of tepid, clichéridden coming-of-age dramas,
“An Education” is like a drink of
cool, fresh water. Again and again,
we tense up as we expect to meet
a cliché — only to relax as the film
lightly dances around it. Near the
end, a major character makes his exit
from the movie in a manner at once
anticlimactic and utterly appropriate.
“This is what would really happen,”
I thought to myself — and it’s what
most movies would never let happen.
The film is as warm and winning as
Sarsgaard’s smile — and, ultimately,
just as tricky.
The only jarring moment comes
during the closing credits, when
we’re suddenly knocked out of time
by the presence of an obviously
contemporary ballad. It isn’t a
terrible song, but it reminds us
that we aren’t in 1962 anymore —
that we have, like Jenny, left that
world behind. It’s the only truly
sad moment in this sublimely
bittersweet film.

Learning Science Through
Take a step beyond the classroom and learn by doing.
Do undergraduate research at The University of Arizona.

www.ur.arizona.edu
Special thanks to The University of Arizona Parents and Family Association for their generous support of College of Science undergraduate research initiatives.

B6

• wednesday, november 18, 2009 • arizona daily wildcat

From page to pixel: the best
fi lm-to-movie adaptations
By Anna Swenson
Arizona Daily Wildcat

Though I love movies just as much
as the average popcorn-mongering
American consumer, I usually prefer
the book version of an adapted tale.
There are, however, a few exceptions
where the visual spectacle, live action
or killer special effects tell a story so
well that film is just a better medium.
To honor the Friday release of a little
movie called “The Twilight Saga: New
Moon,” here is a list of the best bookto-movie adaptations to add to your
Netflix queue while you await the 2010
release of “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.”

1. To Kill A Mockingbird
(1962):

While it is no substitute for reading the
original, this movie based on the American classic about racism and growing up in
the Depression-era South is a classic on its
own. Gregory Peck gives a wonderful performance as the inimitable Atticus Finch,
making this my all-time favorite black-andwhite movie. The main character’s friend
Dill has one of my favorite lines spoken by
a five-year-old this side of a Peanuts comic
strip:“I’m little, but I’m old.”

3. The Notebook (2004):

The Nicholas Sparks novel upon
which this chick flick favorite is based
is more nuanced and life-like than the
movie it inspired. But really, no one
watches “The Notebook” for nuance
and realism. You watch “The Notebook”
for kisses-in-the-rain scenes, love like
you believed in when you were a little
girl and to seem like a softy to attract
chicks. I like unhappy endings and storytelling subtleties more than most, but
I love a shirtless, wet, decidedly unsubtle Noah Calhoun, too. If you like “The
Notebook,” get excited for the movie
version of Sparks’ novel “Dear John”
starring Amanda Seyfried and Channing Tatum, which comes out in 2010.

4. The Shawshank Redemption
(1994):

Based on a Stephen King short story,
this moving tale of Morgan Freeman
and Tim Robbins in prison changes a
pretty major part of the plot. But unlike
most butchering book-film changes, this
one actually makes the story better. A

5. Into the Wild (2007):

The Jon Krakauer book about the
life of runaway eccentric Chris McCandless is deep, moving, and a wonderful book. But the Sean Penn film based
on Krakauer’s book is in every way
more kind and reverent
to the brave life of the
disillusioned college
grad who takes to the
vagabond life to escape
his family, expectations and society. To
see where McCandless went and what he
did instead of getting
a nine-to-five, rather
than just reading about
it, helps the viewer
understand McCandless’ decision with much
more sympathy and
clarity. It’s a great book,
but it’s a transcendent
movie.

potential to be really depressing. So
far, it looks like Jackson is thankfully
focusing on the more positive parts
of the book: the very human characters, imaginative premise and lovably
awkward protagonist Susie Salmon.
My favorite line from the book sets
the tone for this dreamy, teary story:
“Our only kiss was like an accident, a
beautiful gasoline rainbow.”
Whether you like only books or only
movies or both, I hope you enjoy this

Photo courtesy of costumzee.com

So this movie based
on Alice Sebold’s 2002
novel doesn’t hit theatres until next month.
But based on the solid
casting, Peter Jackson
as director and the
crazy, awesome trailer
I’ve been watching way
too often, I’m pretty
sure this adaptation will do justice to
the bestseller on which it’s based. The
book follows the imagined afterlife
of a girl who gets raped and dies in
the first 50-odd pages, so it has the

Hardcover Fiction

1.“Ford County”
by John Grisham
2.“The Lost Symbol”
by Dan Brown
3.“Kindred in Death”
by J. D. Robb
4.“The Gathering Storm”
by Robert Jordan
and Brandon Sanderson
5.“The Lacuna”
by Barbara Kingsolver

Hardcover Nonfiction

1.“Have a Little Faith”
by Mitch Albom
2.“Superfreakonomics”
by Steven D. Levitt
and Stephen J. Dubner
3.“What the Dog Saw”
by Malcolm Gladwell
4.“Arguing with Idiots”
written and edited by
Glenn Beck, Kevin Balfe
and others
5.“The Book of Basketball”
by Bill Simmons

6. The Lovely
Bones (2009):

2. Alice in Wonderland
(1951):

As I never would have imagined
while watching this animated acid trip
as a kid, the book upon which it was
based is even more off-the-wall than
the Disney classic. While there is no
matching the oddly-childish menace of
author Lewis Carroll’s poem/prose edition, the movie’s smoking bugs, size-altering ‘shrooms and lingering Cheshire
smile capture the fun/fever-dream essence of the beloved children’s book.
The new Tim Burton version sounds
intriguing, but it won’t replace the first
movie in my heart.

touching tale of guilt, life and doing the
right thing, this is the Stephen King you
probably don’t know about, but should.
And come on, it’s Morgan Freeman.

Bestselling
Books for
the Week of
Nov. 18, 2009

Paperback Nonfiction

Photo courtesy of filmshaft.com

list of the Bibliophile’s favorites from
Kindle screen to big screen. See you in
the line for the midnight showing of
“New Moon” … it’s okay, I’ll pretend I
don’t recognize you either.

1.“The Blind Side”
by Michael Lewis
2.“Our Choice”
by Al Gore
3.“Three Cups of Tea”
by Greg Mortenson
and David Oliver Relin
4.“Freakonomics”
by Steven D. Levitt
and Stephen J. Dubner
5.“The Glass Castle”
by Jeannette Walls
— courtesy of The New York Times

‘Asterios Polyp’ careful sketch of a man
By Steven Kwan
Arizona Daily Wildcat
“Asterios Polyp” by cartoonist
David Mazzucchelli is one of the
best and most ambitious graphic
novels of the year.
Asterios Polyp is an architect
whose designs, while awardwinning, have never actually been
built. He is a professor who writes
and speaks with the dry, arch tone
of a person only accustomed to his
own brilliance. Subsequently, he
knows everything and has a theory
about everything and everyone.
He was married to a shy and
insecure Japanese-German
sculptor, Hana Sonnenschein ,
before she divorced him.
During a stormy night, Asterios is
on his bed watching what appears
to be a porn video. His apartment
is strewn with overdue bills, dirty
laundry and unwashed dishes.
Lightning strikes the building,

setting it on fire. He grabs three
things — a mechanical watch, a
lighter and a Swiss army knife
— and leaves. He then takes an
outbound bus to begin his journey
of remembrance and rediscovery.
Mazzucchelli has worked in the
field of comic books for nearly 30
years, yet surprisingly “Asterios
Polyp” is his first original graphic
novel. He was known for his
1980s collaborations with writer
Frank Miller on “Daredevil: Born
Again” and “Batman: Year One.”
Mazzucchelli then left his brief but
successful tenure in mainstream
superhero comics to create an
influential three-issue anthology,
“Rubber Blanket.” He then worked
with Paul Karasik to adapt Paul
Auster’s “City of Glass.”
In many comics, dialogue and
captions can be removed and the
overall story can still be understood.
There is even a subgenre of comics
devoted to wordless stories. “Asterios

Polyp” is one of those rare comic
books where the words and art are
so entwined, as the characters are
to each other, that it’s impossible to
enjoy them separately. Mazzucchelli’s
deft artwork showcases how the
comic books can tell a story in ways
unique to the medium.
For a graphic novel, “Asterios
Polyp” is a dense read. Not only
does Mazzucchelli touch on
architecture as befitting his main
character, but he also covers
ancient Greek philosophy, art,
mythology, quantum mechanics,
religion, feng shui and smoking,
and alludes to Orpheus , Adam
and Eve, St. Francis of Assisi and
more. Despite all of these weighty
topics and references, Mazzucchelli
integrates them without
unbalancing the story while also
sneaking in some humor.
Duality is a major theme in
“Asterios Polyp,” with each
narrative thread shown through

the use of duotones based on the
primary colors of printing: cyan,
magenta, yellow and black. In
a flashback, Asterios is shown
regaling everyone at a faculty party
with bold repartee in restrained
shades of cyan while Hana’s
personal history of quiet insecurity
is told against a loud backdrop of
magenta. The sketchy magenta
lines of Hana and the precise
cyan lines of Asterios slowly meld
together as they talk and fall in
love during the party.
“Asterios Polyp” rewards careful
rereading. Details that were
missed or didn’t make sense the
first time are illuminated during
successive reads: Asterios wearing
a red sweater, the foreshadowing
of Asterios and Hana’s fates, the
visual refrain of certain sequences,
the introduction of more colors.
It makes Asterios’ personal
realization, which centers on a foot
blister, all the more remarkable.

Mazzucchelli’s tour de force
dazzles with its impressive, heady
style but it ultimately wins us over
with its slow, steady heart.

passionately to the last word as the minor-keyed
music fades. A shirtless man runs through crackling fireworks before two people run along a dark
beach bearing a banner reading “Go Forth.”
Directed by SoCal native and NYU grad Cary
Fukunaga and filmed mostly in areas of Katrinaravaged New Orleans, these spots are everything
you could hope for in an ad: artistic, smart, brave and
varied, they try to make you feel good, but also think
— and, of course, buy the product. If all it takes for
this determined, sweaty, sexy America to become a
reality is to buy a pair of Levi’s, count me in. According to these ads, America is earth, youth, rebellion,
literature and campfires — and a collective backside
that looks great in a pair of blue jeans.
This is genius marketing, capturing exactly
the spirit of the times and the feeling of the
people at this moment in history. We relate to
the shirtless, the dirty, the dark, the barefoot, the
rough-around-the-edges. Our future is poorly
lit, our present tense and tight.
“I am the new American pioneer,”the Levi’s Web
site reads in handwritten script superimposed over a
snapshot of Niagara Falls.“No longer content to wait
for better times. … I will work for better times.‘Cause
no one built this country in suits,”it reads. The styling, the language and the unsmiling-yet-gorgeous
models all catch exactly the tenure and the tension
of the times.
But don’t be fooled, O Pioneers: as much as
we all would love to be a Levi-clad nation of
sweaty, equal bodies perennial with freedom, law
and love, Levi Strauss and Co. is the Man these
advertisements suggest we stick it to. “Start a rebellion!” they shout, while they whisper: “buy our
product.”While the company was started in the
U.S. well over a century ago, the company closed

its last American plant in 2003.
No matter how their ad plays to the cash-strapped
ethos of today, they still sell $300 jeans. While the
ad is not shiny and glossy like ad campaigns we’ve
loved to hate in the past, it is only because those ad
agency geniuses have tapped into the nation’s desire
for the humble, matte and scuffed. As advertising
commenter Seth Stevenson wrote at Slate.com,“This
60-second film is, to me, a small artistic gem. Right
up until that Levi’s logo at the end.”
Levi’s is working with activists to better meet
fair labor practices, has increased its use of
organic cotton, encourages energy-friendly linedrying in its care labels and has partnered with
Goodwill to encourage people to donate used
jeans. As environmental journalist Jen Boynton
wrote on triplepundit.com, “It’s a genius partnership, and I have to say it felt like an authentic
and effective effort to develop and market the
partnership.” But is the company doing this because it is an ethical business, or because people
feel better about shelling out major cash for
jeans they think make the world better?
The ads promote beautiful imagery, creative
production, and expose the TV-watching public to
more literature and art than they might otherwise
encounter in a week. But if Levi Strauss and Co. is
really going to convince any young counter-culturists
to buy its pants, it is going to have to take off the
ad agency suits. Take a note from your unwitting
spokesman Uncle Walt: stop trying to manipulate us
and maybe become one of us.
We western youths call your bluff, Levi’s. We’ll
watch your ads for free on YouTube, and sure, we’ll
buy your jeans — at Goodwill. Keep your $300 stone
washes and 501 flares — we go forth in jeans with
holes and scuffs of our own making.

concert

Centennial show already sold out

continued from page B1

has continued its success with its latest
album, simply titled The Fray, which was
released in February.
With a little help from iTunes downloads,
The Fray gained much attention despite the
band’s hiatus for the last four years. Its resurgence proved the band’s ability to crank out
more than a few hits off a single album.
Given The Fray’s growing success, one can
hope its appearance draws a better crowd
than last semester’s Jay-Z, Kelly Clarkson,
The Veronicas and Third Eye Blind financial
disaster. Hopefully the band will not make

absurd dressing room requests, either —
which last year included several food items
and a plethora of liquids ranging from Fiji
Water to hot tea.
Luckily, ASUA is giving students and
faculty a discount on tickets and providing a
venue that offers a respite from the November chill. The Fray is sure to heat up the
evening with its crowd-appeasing songs and
wholesome demeanor.
The Fray plays tonight at 8 p.m. at Centennial Hall. Admission: UA students/faculty/staff
$40, $30, $20; general admission $45, $35, $25.